Paul Murray Olmstead

Paul Murray Olmstead passed away peacefully on April 7,2023 at the age of 83. Paul was born in Scranton, PA on January 6, 1940 to Elmer Olmstead and Hazel Olmstead. Shortly after his birth, the family moved to northern NJ where his father worked as a machinist in the nascent WWII defense industry. In 1941, the family purchased a house in Fair Lawn, NJ which became the family home until 1998. Paul’s sister, Jeanne, was born in December of 1941.

Paul grew up in Fair Lawn, NJ and graduated in the class of 1958 from Fair Lawn HS. In high school, he lettered in baseball, football, and wrestling, was active in student government, and was president of his class. As the first in his family to attend college, he received a B.S. in electrical engineering from M.I.T. in 1962 and an M.S. in electrical engineering from Stanford University in 1963.

In 1965, Paul met Kathryn Stooke who had recently graduated from Stanford University. They were married in December and remained together for 33 years. In 1966, they moved to Boston, MA, where their daughter, Anne Kathryn, was born in 1967. Paul received an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School in June of 1968. After graduation from Harvard, Paul joined Raychem Corporation in Menlo Park, CA and was briefly assigned to Philadelphia, PA where their son, John Paul, was born in Camden, NJ in 1969. In 1972, Paul was asked to move to Brussels, Belgium, to head up the Management Information Systems group in Raychem’s European headquarters. After three years in Belgium, Paul and the family returned to US, settled down in California, and bought a house in Palo Alto where they lived from 1975 through 1998. In 1977, Paul left Raychem and took positions as chief financial officer and vice president of finance for a series of high technology start-up companies. In 1987, Paul formed the consulting firm, Olmstead Venture Management, and provided business, technical, and strategic planning advice to entrepreneurs and small companies for the next 20 years.

In the 1990’s, Paul developed a concern for the environment which led him to study solar hydrogen fuel cell systems at Humboldt State University. He received an M.S. in Environmental Systems from Humboldt in 1995. Paul taught classes in “Problem Solving in Environmental Studies” at Humboldt State University and San Jose State University where he introduced the Case Method Discussion Teaching that had been developed at Harvard Business School. When he moved to Bellingham in 1999, Paul joined the adjunct faculty of Huxley College of the Environment at Western Washington University, and continued to teach “Problem Solving in Environmental Studies” classes.

Paul’s personal life revolved around his family, enjoying the outdoors, participating in sports, and pursuing his varied interests. He looked forward to vacations with the family which included many trips snow skiing at Lake Tahoe, as well as water skiing and wind surfing in northern California. One of his most memorable experiences was running in a triathlon with Anne and John, when Anne was at UC Davis.

After he arrived in Bellingham in 1999, Paul learned to kayak and surf ski on Lake Padden where he regularly swam the 1.5 mile circumference of the lake. He enjoyed hiking the many beautiful scenic trails in Whatcom, Skagit, and Island counties. Paul also enjoyed partner social dancing and on most Thursday nights, you could find him swing and country dancing at the Skagit Valley Grange. Paul’s lifelong appreciation and enthusiasm for swing, country and jazz music motivated him to learn and enjoy playing the piano and drums after he retired.

Paul was predeceased by his parents and survived by his sister, Jeanne Packard, and brother-in-law, Raymond Packard, of Palm Coast, FL; his daughter, Anne Harding, son-in-law, Tom Harding, and granddaughters, Katie and Anika Harding, of Danville, CA; his son, John Olmstead, daughter-in-law, Helen O’Shea, and his grandson, Timothy Olmstead, of San Anselmo, CA; his ex-wife, Kathryn Riley, of Palo Alto, CA; and several nieces, nephews, and cousins. Paul will be remembered for his insightful comments, his sense of humor and his distinctive laughter.